He is the author of six novels: Louisiana Power & Light, Love Warps the Mind a Little (both New York Times’ Notable Books of the Year), Deep in the Shade of Paradise, Requiem, Mass., No Regrets, Coyote, and I Don’t Like Where This Is Going. He also wrote two short story collections: The Way That Water Enters Stone and Johnny Too Bad, as well as three chapbooks. He has two books on writing and creativity: The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction and Is Life Like This?: A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months. John was a 2012–13 Guggenheim Fellow and teaches in the MFA program at Florida International University in Miami.